MP3 At 3PM: Sam Amidon

On fourth LP I See The Sign, Sam Amidon once again showcases an educated appreciation of older, less popular styles of music, except this time he’s literally re-interpreting “age-old secular ballads, gospel, folk songs and hymns.” The album pulls from the obscure children’s singing-game songs of Bessie Jones to R. Kelly’s “Relief, which we covered in April, and features collaborations with Beth Orton, Nico Muhly, Ben Frost, Shahzad Ismaily and producer Valgeir Sigurðsson. “Kedron” finds Amidon singing hymn-like about the death of Christ over picked acoustic guitar and plaintive orchestration from Muhly. It’s a brief, but undoubtedly beautiful song, one that marks one of the most inventive record concepts in recent memory. I See The Sign is out now on Bedroom Community.